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NEPHI — Stealing a police car, getting into a shootout with officers and leading them on a wild manhunt that shut down the I-15 freeway Wednesday are not all of the crimes that a Minnesota man is accused of committing.
Police say he was also driving a vehicle with drugs hidden inside, tried carjacking a couple's vehicle with a stolen police rifle and shot a passenger in the leg, requiring the victim to undergo emergency surgery.
And investigators say he's the same man who shot at police last year in a Walmart parking lot in Minnesota.
James Howard Klein, 33, was booked into the Juab County Jail Thursday for investigation of four counts of attempted murder plus multiple other crimes.
Klein and Jennifer Huang, 43, both from Minnesota, were pulled over on I-15 near the Juab-Millard county line about 4 p.m. Wednesday for a traffic violation, according to a police booking affidavit.
Juab County sheriff's deputies suspected that "a large amount of illegal narcotics was concealed inside the vehicle," the affidavit states. Klein was asked to wait either in the passenger seat or near a Juab County sheriff's SUV, two police affidavits state, while two deputies and two Utah Highway Patrol troopers searched his vehicle.
"As deputies were preparing to search the vehicle driven by Klein, Klein entered the driver's seat of the Juab County sheriff's vehicle and stole the vehicle," investigators wrote in the affidavit.
Klein drove about two miles north on I-15 and took the exit to Yuba Lake. He failed to make the turn onto Old Yuba Dam Road and the stolen patrol vehicle crashed and was unable to continue moving, according to police.
Klein then grabbed a police rifle that was in the vehicle and ran onto the freeway off-ramp where a husband and wife were just getting off the road. The couple saw the sheriff's vehicle with its emergency lights on and thought there was a police emergency, so they pulled over. That's when Klein tried to get into their car, the affidavit says.
"As Klein approached their vehicle, the husband stated Klein pointed the rifle at his wife and demanded they give him a ride or he would shoot them," according to the affidavit. "The male victim stated ... that Klein stuck the barrel of the rifle inside the front passenger window that was down and pointed the rifle barrel at his wife's head when he said he would shoot them if they didn't give him a ride."
The husband grabbed the barrel of the rifle and pushed it away from his wife. That's when Klein fired, the affidavit states.
"The projectile entered the dashboard of the vehicle, causing the air bags to be deployed and the engine to shut off," police wrote.
Klein then "opened the door and again ordered the victims to give him a ride or he would shoot them again," but they told him the car would no longer drive, the affidavit states.
The UHP troopers then entered the off-ramp. As the troopers closed in, the husband was able to get the car to start and told his wife to go.
"With the back door still open Klein fired a second round, this time at the male victim. The bullet struck the male victim in the right leg. The bullet traveled up the leg striking the male victim's knee causing significant damage to the knee," according to the affidavit.
The husband underwent emergency surgery that night. An updated condition was not known Thursday.
Once the vehicle was on the overpass, Klein allegedly fired a third shot at the car.
"The bullet traveled into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, striking the driver's seat headrest and fragmenting. ... The fragments entered the driver's side door window causing the glass to break," the affidavit says. "All three of these rounds were fired by Klein at the victims in an attempt to get them to give him a ride, or take him in their vehicle, and possibly take them as hostages."
As two UHP troopers approached Klein, he then allegedly shot at them.
Both troopers returned fire and Klein was struck once in the leg. After being shot, Klein took cover behind the sheriff's vehicle in a prone position and began firing at the troopers from under the sheriff's vehicle. Multiple rounds were exchanged, according to the affidavit.
Police say part of the confrontation was recorded by bystanders on I-15.
After exchanging gunfire with the troopers, Klein "walked down the embankment and into a drainage ditch and culvert. Klein then walked west through the culvert toward the Sevier River ... for approximately a mile," the affidavit states.
Officers from numerous agencies responded to the area to track down Klein.
"Klein concealed himself in the Sevier River where he was located by Utah County Metro SWAT (officers) and taken into custody. At the time of Klein's arrest, he was still in possession of the AR-15 rifle stolen from the Juab County deputy's vehicle," the affidavit states.
Police noted that "Klein is a known violent felon who has a history of violence and assault and shooting at police," and he has a pending case in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he is accused of shooting at two police officers during a shoplifting investigation. According to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in Minnesota, Klein was charged in that case in March 2020 with two counts of first-degree assault and one count of felon in possession of ammunition and firearm.
Investigators served a search warrant on Klein and Huang's vehicle and found 9 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk, according to the affidavit. Police say a backpack with marijuana and a gun with the serial number filed off were also located.
Huang was also arrested for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute, marijuana possession, giving false ID to police, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, altering a number on a gun, having a loaded firearm on the street, and drug possession in a correctional facility after police found she still had drugs in her possession when she was booked into the Juab County Jail.
In addition to four counts of attempted murder, Klein was also arrested for investigation of two counts of theft of a firearm, drug possession with intent to distribute, failing to stop at the command of police, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, altering a number on a gun, having a loaded firearm on the street, and marijuana possession.
